During our Epic European Vacation this past September, JT booked us into a One Star Michelin Restaurant, Alejandro, just outside of Almeria in the quiet town of Roquetas de Mar. We decided to do lunch because it was a little far to drive for dinner and we were already in Almeria, dropping off our dear friends Paul and T at the airport. Plus, lunch is more reasonable and probably less crowded. As it turned out, we were the only ones in the small restaurant for the majority of our meal, the entire kitchen team (I saw three chefs) and front of the house (two people) focussed on serving us, talk about service! The luncheon degustation tasting menu (nine courses) was only 50 Euros each, including a 10% tip (10% is the norm)! There were a few outstanding courses that I will attempt to recreate, tipping my hat to my new friend, David Crichton of Fine Dining at Home who consistently creates restaurant-quality meals in his humble home kitchen. Dave, I think you’d like this.
I won’t do a full review of the restaurant because they did not speak English, although, they had one English menu that they pointed to as they explained the dish in Spanish. #lostintranslation I should have used google translate! Notwithstanding, it was an exceptional meal and for the price, I would definitely recommend a visit if you are in or near Almeria (it’s only about a 30-minute drive from Almeria).
I won’t lie, this recipe is not quick, nor is it an easy recipe but if you make the mousse in advance, the rest comes together rather quickly. The mousse freezes well so I can see freezing 60 mL or 1/4 cup portions for future dinner parties.
The first layer, obscured by mushroom crumbs, is a mushroom mousse. The mushroom crumb is made from mushroom powder with toasted panko, seaweed and sea salt; it provides textural balance to the ultra-creamy mousse. The whole wild mushrooms are coated with Mycryo® and roasted in a super hot oven to coax out their subtle sweetness and temper their earthiness (the mushroom mousse and crumb brings all the earthiness needed for this dish). I used a variety of wild and cultivated mushrooms, sadly, not nearly as interesting as the dish below, but equally as tasty. I’m excited to make this dish for our next dinner guests!
Roasted Wild Mushrooms on Mushroom and Chestnut Mousse with Mushroom Crumbs
A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe inspired by the One Star Michelin Chefs at Alejandro, Spain.
Makes 6 appetizer servings
Ingredients for the mushroom mousse:
Makes about 300 mL (1.25 cups) Mousse
- 30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 50 g shallots, roughly chopped
- 35 g garlic
- 60 mL (1/4 cup) EVOO
- 30 mL (2 tbsp) Mycryo®
- 200 g mix of wild mushrooms,roughly chopped
- 100 g peeled, roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 125 mL (1/2 cup) mushroom stock
Directions:
- Remove outer layer of garlic skins but leave the inner layer intact. Place garlic bulb into a heatproof ramekin and cover partially with olive oil. Roast in a 175° C (350° F) oven until soft. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a dutch oven, add shallots and cook until caramelized.
- Dust the mushrooms in Mycryo® and add to shallots, stir and add the roasted chestnuts. Cook mushrooms and chestnuts until they are well seared and very soft, add roasted garlic.
- Purée with an immersion blender with the mushroom stock (adding a little at a time until desired consistency for mousse is achieved). Press the mousse through a fine sieve. Set aside and keep warm until plating.
Ingredients for the roasted mushrooms:
- Mycryo®
- 240 g wild mushrooms, mixed (choose smaller ones for the presentation)
Directions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 220 ° C (425° F). Coat the clean and dry mushrooms with Mycryo®. Spread in a large cast iron frying pan, leaving plenty of space around each mushroom (do not crowd, you don’t want them to steam, you want them to roast).
- Place cast iron pan in the hot oven. Turn mushrooms often for about 15-20 minutes or until mushrooms have browned and cooked through. Set aside and keep warm until plating.
Ingredients for the mushroom crumbs:
- 60 g (1/2 cups) panko
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 15 g (1/4 cup) mushroom powder
- 10 g Seaweed Bouchées (like this), crumbled
- sea salt
- Pinch of smoked paprika
Directions:
- Melt butter in a frying pan, add panko and toast until golden. Remove from heat, add the mushroom powder, salt, smoked paprika and seaweed bouchées, stir well. Spinkle onto a clean piece of parchment and cool.
Assembly:
- On warms plates, smear about 50 mL (1/4 cup) of the warm mushroom mousse. Sprinkle with the mushroom crumbs covering the mousse entirely and top with a variety of roasted mushrooms.
Notes:
- To make mushroom powder, take a variety of dried mushrooms, pulse in a coffee grinder dedicated to spices until it is a fine powder. Press through a fine sieve to catch any sand bits. Reserve in a clean jar for future use.
- To make mushroom stock, take 10 g (1/3 cup) of a variety of dried mushrooms and place in a microwave-safe container and cover with 250 mL or 1 cup water. Microwave on high until mushrooms have reconstituted. Pour mushroom liquid through a fine gold coffee filter to capture all the sandy bits. Reserve 125 mL or 1/2 cup and freeze the rest for some other recipes (great in mushroom risotto).
- This recipe is my impression of what we had in Spain. JT said it was pretty good according to memory.
- UPDATE (January 2, 2017): I served this as the first course of our New Year’s Eve Dinner 2016 and got RAVE reviews! If you have mushroom lovers in your crowd, it’s worth the time and effort to prepare this dish. I made extra mousse (it’s the fussiest part) and froze it for an upcoming dinner party.
- Because I was serving this as a course in a multi-course meal, I pre-roasted the mushrooms and then reheated them in a non-stick pan with about 2 tbsp butter.
Well done, Eva! Recreating that mousse couldn’t have been easy but you did it well enough to gain JT’s approval. Not bad! I wouldn’t have much getting any wild mushrooms this time of year but you’ve certainly given me another reason to eagerly await spring. Sometimes I wish that these were my traveling years. I certainly enjoyed myself but I’m in a different place now, food-wise, and I’d get so much more from the meals that I enjoyed.
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Thank you kindly John, if you ever come up to Toronto, I’ll be sure to cook this for you.
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What a wonderful dish, Eva! I am especially curious about the mushroom powder. I love changing textures or “states” of the ingredients and have never had mushroom powder yet!
50 euros sounds like a veeeery reasonable price (especially with the tip included!). Many people in France choose the lunch option in Michelin-starred restaurants because of the price.
Thumbs up for recreating such an elaborate elegant dish!
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Hi Sissi, thank you for your comment and generous compliment. I wouldn’t have thought of mushroom powder if I hadn’t bought a jar quite a number of years ago, mind you it was rather expensive, as I recall. Now, I always have a variety of dried wild mushrooms on hand and if I need mushroom powder, I simply blitz a few in my spice grinder!
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I’d forgotten you’d been to Raouls! I just went back and re-read your post – thanks for posting the link! What a shame we didn’t go there together but great to know we’ve had a shared experience. I would love to see Liev on stage as well and it was such a kind offer and a great opportunity but the season finishes in February and it’s just not possible for me to go back to NYC – it’s a very long way from here! Your cooking skills are outstanding – I’m super-impressed with this stunning dish that features one of my most favourite ingredients – mushrooms! xx
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Thank you for your kind and generous words, Charlie I am indeed flattered! I haven’t been to NYC since 2012 and it’s about time I need to go but February is a terrible time to be in NYC, so cold and there is always a sharp wind off the ocean to contend with. Plus we have a trip booked to Arizona where it will be warm and sunny in February!
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Oh, boy, this is a mushroom lover’s dream! What an elegant, delicious recipe!
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Thank you kindly Liz, it really is!
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One of the pleasures of travel is the food. Love trying new restaurants and new dishes. Sounds like you found a winner of a restaurant. And this dish looks wonderful! Really good — thanks.
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Thank you John, we had some real winners during this trip and sadly some real losers too (surprisingly in Paris!).
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I love recipes that aren’t quick and easy! I really do. Look at the results. You are a true artist. GREG
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Greg, like you, I just love playing with food; thank you for your generous compliment.
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What a wonderful recreation of a dish Eva! It looks doable too and I like the idea of making the mousse ahead of time.
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Thank you Lorraine, if you love mushrooms like JT and I do, you will love this recipe.
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An elegant dish featuring wild mushrooms. I love the contrast of textures. I had to look up the Mycryo as I had no idea what it was.
It’s a bit too fussy and precise for the lethargic state of my cooking prowess on these cold and dreary days when a ‘dump’ soup of chicken stock, fresh carrots, celery and onions, some marinara sauce as I don’t have any fresh tomatoes on hand, and a package of frozen tortellini is about all I can handle. It went well with a few thick slices of freshly baked bacon, old cheddar cheese and cracked black pepper sourdough bread.
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Thank you kindly Maria, I too sometimes feel lethargic in the kitchen, those are not the recipe I post ;-)! Dump soup is a wonderful concoction for these chilly winter days.
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I really love that mushroom mousse! Bet it would make a perfect spread for some sourdough bread too.
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Thank you, Angie, it would indeed be delicious on some sourdough bread, great idea!
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Nice one.
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Thank you Liz.
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I think yours looks better, Eva. I do love dishes that concentrate on one main ingredient. Getting the wild mushrooms is always the difficult part. This is definitely worthy of the FD at Home kitchen.
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Thank you so much, Dave, I am quite flattered in response to your high praise.
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